Pripyat, Ukraine
Soon I’ll be traveling back to survey-land. Back to a world of bribes and border crossings, Embassy escapades and interesting transits. A world of pseudo-espionage, where pussyfooting supermarket aisles for 4+ hours is the norm.
Can’t wait to get back on the road. I’ve been itching to cause more trouble out there. Here’s a brief outline of my trip. If you or anyone you know would like to meet up in the following 4 cities, get in touch!
Charlotte, North Carolina
First stop, Charlotte! I hope to take a 1/2 day and drive to Asheville, a town known for its local culture, seasonal festivals and arts and crafts. Just my kind of place to explore. I’ll also be meeting up with a friend I used to row crew with back in college. Since my brother will be living here over the summer, I’ll do my best to scout out Charlotte’s finest dive bars and cheap eats.
Cincinnati, Ohio
Barbecue! I’ve already got a place picked out. I’ll also be meeting up with a good friend from college who, from what I hear, lives in a happening part of town.
Algiers, Algeria
Have never been to North Africa before, so this should be a pretty wild experience. Hoping to practice my French and digest Algerian culture and see some sites. There’s a part of town called Casbah which dates back to the 17th century and has some fun-looking mosques. There’s also a Serbian cemetery. More research to be done..
Tripoli, Libya
I still have my fingers crossed for the visa. First time I have ever had to translate my passport into another language (Arabic). My faith is strong–if my company can sneak me into Turkmenistan, then I’m sure I’ll have no problem with Libya. Right?
A lot to do here, and with a Mediterranean climate, I’ll be spending as much time outside as I can. I hope to sample Libyan cuisine and wash it down with a selection of non-alcoholic beers. They’ve got quite the selection from what I understand.
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I’ve got a few posts left in me before I go, so stay tuned. In other news, tomorrow morning I will take part in the 21-Day No Complaint Experiment. Click the link for details. What better way to kick off my 24th birthday?
Sounds like a great assignment. And happy birthday! The no complaint experiment is something I’ve always thought about doing, but never have really gotten started with it. I’m definitely looking forward to reading about your results. I’d imagine that it’s going to be very difficult. But if it was easy everyone would do it I guess.
@Nate: Thanks buddy. Already failed 2/2 days…this is going to be much harder than I imagined!